Universities With the Most Ultra-High-Net-Worth Alumni
You probably can guess the No. 1 ranked university on the list. (Hint: Rhymes with shmarvard.) But can you guess the four U.S. public universities that also make the list? Or the state with four schools? Or the three schools not in the U.S.?
The following universities produce the most ultra-high-net-worth alumni. Figures come from wealth information and insight company Wealth-X’s University Alumni Rankings. Wealth-X defines ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals as those with a net worth topping $30 million.
20. University of California, Los Angeles
Estimated total wealth of UHNW UCLA alumni: $375 billion
Notable alumni include: Inventor and former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold, film director Francis Ford Coppola and baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Former Univision chairman Jerry Perenchio is a Bruin, too.
Fast facts: Six years after earning a diploma from this public university, 25 percent of all graduates earn more than $92,000 a year, according to Niche. The median earnings for graduates after six years: $60,700.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW INSEAD alumni: $356 billion
Notable alumni include: Diageo Chairman Franz Humer and LEGO CEO Niels Christiansen.
Fast facts: The graduate business school has campuses in France, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and the U.S., and has partnerships and exchange programs with many prestigious schools around the globe.
18. University of Michigan
Estimated total wealth of UHNW University of Michigan alumni: $691 billion
Notable alumni include: Google co-founder and No. 10 person on Forbes’s list of richest people in the world Larry Page earned an undergraduate degree in Ann Arbor.
Fast facts: Graduates of Niche’s top-ranked public university report median earnings of $63,400 six years after leaving the school. Twenty-five percent earn more than $95,000 six years after graduation.
17. University of Notre Dame
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Notre Dame alumni: $179 billion
Notable alumni include: San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. and best-selling author Nicholas Sparks earned undergraduate degrees. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earned her master’s degree in political science.
Fast facts: Niche’s No. 1 ranked Catholic university costs $27,435 a year to attend. Six years after leaving the South Bend, Indiana, campus, graduates report median earnings of $78,400.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Princeton alumni: $1,126 billion
Notable alumni include: Amazon founder and world’s richest man Jeff Bezos graduated from Princeton. He accounts for a lot of that estimated total wealth of Princeton alumni on his own.
Fast facts: It’s the No. 5 university in the U.S. overall, according to Niche. Six years after leaving the New Jersey Ivy League institution with a degree, the median income for graduates is $74,700. Twenty-five percent of graduates report earnings above $132,100.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW University of Texas alumni: $463 billion
Notable alumni include: Former ExxonMobil CEO and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is a Longhorn, as is Southwest Airlines CEO Gary C. Kelly. Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell is a notable dropout.
Fast facts: Texas’s flagship university costs less than $15,000 a year. Graduates report median earnings of $46,000 two years after leaving the Austin campus and $58,200 six years after sporting a cap and gown.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Cornell alumni: $483 billion
Notable alumni include: Cornell’s most famous graduate isn’t a billionaire. She’s Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Bill Nye the Science Guy is also a Cornell grad.
Fast facts: The exclusive Ithaca, New York, school — it accepts just 13 percent of applicants — costs $31,449 to attend annually. Graduates report a median income of $77,200 six years after graduating. Twenty-five percent of graduates report earning more than $120,000.
13. University of Oxford, UK
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Oxford alumni: $349 billion
Notable alumni include: Twenty six British Prime Ministers and 50 Nobel Prize winners have graduated from Oxford. For a story revolving around wealth and economics, though, we’ll give a notable nod to economist Adam Smith. He’s a graduate of Oxford’s Balliol College.
Fast facts: Oxford ranked No. 1 in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2017 and 2018. The acceptance rate for Oxford applicants was approximately 16 percent in 2017.
12. University of California, Berkeley
Estimated total wealth of UHNW UC Berkeley alumni: $760 billion
Notable alumni include: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak earned an electrical engineering and computer science degree. Hedge fund manager Jim Simons (Forbes: No. 44) earned a PhD in mathematics.
Fast facts: It costs $18,178 annually to attend the University of California flagship college. What are students’ median earnings six years after graduation? $64,700.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Yale alumni: $777 billion
Notable alumni include: Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of the private equity firm Blackstone Group, did his undergrad in New Haven. FedEx founder Fred Smith is also a Yalie.
Fast facts: The No. 3 overall university in the U.S., as ranked by Niche, sends its grads into the world with excellent earning power. The median earnings of a Yale graduate six years after graduation are $83,200. Twenty-five percent of those graduates report making more than $153,300 a year when they leave the New Haven, Connecticut, campus.
10. University of Chicago
Estimated total wealth of UHNW University of Chicago alumni: $707 billion
Notable alumni include: Current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned his MBA on the South Side school. Billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison attended for one term before making his way to Silicon Valley.
Fast facts: The annual cost of attending the University of Chicago runs $34,834. Two years after graduation, students report median earnings of $54,300. After six years, that figure rises to $68,100.
9. University of Southern California
Estimated total wealth of UHNW USC alumni: $548 billion
Notable alumni include: Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce, earned a BA in business administration. “Star Wars” creator George Lucas studied cinematic arts here, alongside another pretty successful filmmaker, Steven Spielberg.
Fast facts: It costs $32,892 a year to attend USC, which is located in Los Angeles. Six years after finishing a degree, graduating Trojans earn a median income of $74,000. Twenty-five percent of those graduates make more than $113,000 annually six years out.
8. Northwestern University
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Northwestern alumni: $389 billion
Notable alumni include: James L. Allen and Edwin G. Booz, co-founders of management and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, earned their degrees here. So did Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. She was a double major in theater and international studies.
Fast facts: The Evansville, Illinois, school accepts just 9 percent of applicants. Six years after graduation, 25 percent of alumni earn a median income of $109,800. The overall median income for graduates six years after graduation is $69,000.
7. University of Cambridge, UK
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Cambridge alumni: $390 billion
Notable alumni include: Thomson Reuters chairman David Thomson ranks No. 27 on Forbes’s list of richest people. Billionaire Slack founder Stewart Butterfield also graduated from Cambridge.
Fast facts: It costs about 11,000 euros (around $12,000) for in-country students to attend Cambridge, and around 25,000 euros (around $27,500) for international students. Students who graduate with an MBA from Cambridge University & Judge Business School make an average salary of $133,000, according to emolument.
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Estimated total wealth of UHNW MIT alumni: $990 billion
Notable alumni include: Koch Industries Chairman and CEO Charles Koch, who ranks No. 11 on the Forbes list of billionaires. Hedge fund manager Jim Simons did his undergrad here, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
Fast facts: The Boston school is another that’s very hard to get into: MIT accepts just 7 percent of applicants. Those who get in and make it through earn a median income of $82,200 just two years after graduation. After six years, median earnings rise to $164,900.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW NYU alumni: $712 billion
Notable alumni include: Twitter co-creator and current CEO Jack Dorsey, as well as Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen and director Spike Lee.
Fast facts: It’s expensive ($36,256 a year) and not-too-hard to get into compared to other schools on this list (acceptance rate: 28 percent). Six years after graduation from the New York City institution, the median earnings for a graduate are $61,900.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Columbia alumni: $1,501 billion
Notable alumni include: Billionaire Wall Streeters Daniel Loeb and Henry Kravis, as well as billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The latter earned his graduate degree in economics in New York City.
Fast facts: The New York City Ivy League school ranks the No. 8 hardest school in the U.S. to get into (acceptance rate: 7 percent) and the No. 10 college for business, according to Niche. The median earnings for graduates six years after leaving campus: $83,300.
3. University of Pennsylvania
Estimated total wealth of UHNW UPenn alumni: $1,780 billion
Notable alumni include: Tesla founder and the No. 40 person on Forbes’s richest billionaires list Elon Musk earned undergrad degrees in economics and physics.
Fast facts: Niche ranks the Philadelphia school No. 1 in the U.S. for business. Finance, naturally, is the school’s most popular major. Six years after graduation, median earnings for those who earned a degree are $85,900. Twenty-five percent of those graduates have median earnings of more than $151,000.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Stanford alumni: $2,899 billion
Notable alumni include: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin did their graduate work here. So did Nike founder Phil Knight. Snapchat co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy both attended Stanford, but only one of them graduated (Murphy).
Fast facts: The fourth and final California school on the list accepts only 5 percent of applicants. Those who graduate report median earnings of $94,000 six years out. Twenty-five percent of those graduates make more than $164,000 a year.
Estimated total wealth of UHNW Harvard alumni: $4.769 billion
Notable alumni include: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and a founding partner of 3G Capital, Jorge Paulo Lemann. Notable dropouts include two of Forbes’s top 10 richest people in the world, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (No. 2) and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (No. 8).
Fast facts: The Boston institution also accepts just 5 percent of applicants, and those who make it in pay just over $17,000 a year. Which they’ll make back pretty fast. Six years out, Harvard graduates have median earnings of $89,000. Twenty-five percent of those graduates earn more than $166,000.
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